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[nofriendsius-readsalot]

I love her so much

067

[nofriendsius-readsalot]

👀

are any of us truly shocked tho

[nofriendsius-readsalot]

Killing Stalking Ch. 14-18 Contains Spoilers

Chapter 14: SW shows commitment to keeping YB hostage by clearing out his apartment and explaining his disappearance. While cleaning out his apartment, he finds women’s underwear and a sex toy, which he immediately used to degrade YB. This is another form of manipulation, using humiliating information to dissolve self-respect. With this, he also ensured that YB feels appreciated in the relationship, by offering him a “reward” of sorts.

Chapter 14.5: In these shorts we get little alternative storylines where SW and YB have different careers and lives, and in the last one we get to see them interact. They still have the same core personality traits, YB still gets infatuated with SW and SW is still dominant and overbearing over YB, but it is much less intense.

Chapter 15: This chapter’s flow is disconnected and hazy, almost like a fever dream at first which is very appropriate considering YB’s experiences. We meet a girl who is interested in SW and meeting with him to plan a show for a school festival. We later find out that SW sees her as an annoyance. SW shows his need for validation when it comes to preparing for his performance, insisting YB tells him that he loves him. Then the control factor comes in once again, in one of the most frustrating scenes I’ve read yet, YB tries to escape SW by running away from the audience, but is stopped by SW’s fellow students. He is told he is a drunk and a pervert, degraded once again when showing independent thoughts and priorities. After this, he listens to SW sing, and begins to fixate on his need to be with SW and have him in a committed relationship. SW’s emotional manipulation is working, YB thinks of all the intimacy they have shared and contradicts his previous vow to escape.

Chapter 16 (Technically chapter 16.5): This chapter starts with a little insight into SW and, who we now know to be, Jieun’s relationship. She and SW are very casual with each other, but like YB she is infatuated with SW, or more likely SW’s social persona. The sad reality is that while she was excited to spend an evening with him after, he is engaging in oral sex with YB in a public bathroom. YB shows very sexual intentions in this chapter, first describing SW as cool and attractive, and turning that wholesome admiration into a sexual fantasy, similar to how he gained sexual gratification with similar scenarios before he was kidnapped.

Chapter 17: This chapter is pretty straight forward, SW comes to the conclusion that he will “exchange” his friend group, and became reckless with those around him due to that. He does show jealousy over YB after he fell into his friend’s lap. This jealousy leads to him taking YB home, forcing him in a closet, and bringing a friend that YB previously expressed jealousy over home to have sex with while YB watches.

Chapter 18: God this bit is disturbing. I kept having to stop reading and explain to my lover what was happening to explain how creepy SW is. I don’t really know what to say, besides a nod at how calculated SW seems to be. It could be that, or it could be that he’s so comfortable acting that everything he does seems meticulous.

[nofriendsius-readsalot]

Killing Stalking Ch. 11-13 Contains Spoilers

Chapter 11: We may have already met him once, but in this chapter, we get a little more depth on our cop, Yang Seungbae, who I will be calling YS. We first get a look into the local police station, where YS works. In the first few interactions between him and his coworkers, we see he is degraded and disrespected, seen as annoying and inferior. As we learned earlier, he was demoted for disobeying orders and pursuing cases without permission at his previous position. It seems he cannot escape his reputation nor his old habits. He is most notable for his immediate suspicion of SW, as he had examined his parent’s murder and found him the most likely culprit. That considered, during a flashback we see two of YS’ coworkers gossiping about him. Here we learn that when he was first beginning as a detective, he solved a case. While he was trying to convince everyone that a beggar did it, the actual criminal was caught. This led fellow police to believe he was trying to convict an innocent man to advance his career. YS’ trauma regarding the police and his father’s death is likely what leads to a disconnect between him and his peers, they don’t understand the consequences of not following every lead. With this experience, YS is compelled to pry after being denied the rights to a citizen's black box footage.

Chapter 12 & 13: A common theme in this story, almost immediate obsession. YS has no actual explanation as to why he needs to investigate SW, but like both SW and YB, he is transfixed. This fixation compels him to inspect SW home without permission. Dare I call this desperation, while we know he is correct is his suspicion of SW, we also know he has little to no evidence. This need to convict SW could likely not be based on SW’s observed actions at all, but the fact that YS had been condemned socially for being incorrect in his hunches. Now that he has formed a new one from inspecting SW’s parents’ deaths, he is grappling for evidence and even committing crimes to find a reason to prove himself. SW’s off-putting nature when confronting YS only fuels this, as it is similar to how he is treated by his peers. YS believes he is highly capable, which is evident when he tries to deceive SW and buy more time in his home by faking a phone call. This is obviously unsuccessful. This is where SW feels as if he has the upper hand, with a concealed weapon and a flustered victim, SW’s full intentions are to reveal YB as to raise fear, then kill YS. SW’s panic when he realized he didn’t know where YB was could be misconstrued as concern for his safety and feeling betrayed by someone he cared about, but I believe it is merely panic at the loss of control. The flashbacks to being intimate with YB were instances where SW had complete control over YB emotional attachment. SW says things like “I won’t forgive you” and “How dare you fuck with me” which imply distress at YB not being under his command. His erection is interesting, as I have previously established not believing SW is capable of sexual attraction. That being said, attraction and sensation are different. After imagining himself strangling his mother, he gets sexually excited. It is likely that he is not attracted to others sexually, yet receives sexual gratification from committing violence. As SW reenters his home, he seems to be giving himself a pep talk, preparing himself to kill YB. This relates back to my lover’s question in my previous post, is SW capable of killing YB? His previous victims, the girl, and the man were killed without hesitation. Not only that but they were intentionally lured into SW’s home. YB on the other hand, came on his own, albeit without knowing what would happen. While clearly, YB’s intentions were not to be held hostage, SW is clearly very mentally ill. In his perception, YB coming into his basement may have been an invitation to abuse him. This could be what sets YB apart from other victims. SW feels it is a mutual attraction, but not in the way YB thinks it is.

DISCLAIMER: After posting this I was informed that Sang-Woo has been confirmed to be heterosexual by Koogi. My speculation was false

[nofriendsius-readsalot]

I was wrong in my previous post, Bum is the one with BPD. That goes to show I have a lot to learn about the topic, I'll be considering this in my next reviews.

Thank you to @natsumi82 for telling me so kindly!

BUM DISPLAYS ZERO BPD SYMPTOMS OTHER THAT FAVORITE PERSON ONE

AND FOLK REALLY WANNA GET ON A DIAGNOSED OF THREE YEARS WITH BDP PERSON POST AND TRY TO TELL THEM THAT SANGWOO DOESNT HAVE BPD

ARE YOU FUCK STUPID OR JUST LIKE WHAT THEFUCK

Here’s since your too FUCKING STUPID TO UNDERSTAND WHAT BPD IS BC YOU TOO BUSY TELLING PPL THAT HAVE IT THAT THATS NOT WHAT IT IS ILL EXPLAIN IT!

Sangwoo’s splitting the one moment he’s happy to the extreme anger and violence

Implosive Sangwoo buying things, dropping out of school,taking Bum place out of the blue, him changing his hair

Fear of abandonment and needing reassurance always asking bum if he loves him, anger and violence if he tried to leave (can be compared to the if your leave in going to kill my self)

Favorite person anger and jealousy anytime someone interacts with your FP wanting them to think of your and only you

Violent outbursts accompanied by wanting affection afterwards

Seeing your splitting behavior understanding but once triggered again starting the cycle back over I’m such an asshole aren’t to back to beating bum after being triggered by repressed memories

Speaking of repressed memories using coping mechanisms to keep your self grounded or “stable” most often, drugs,alcohol, and cutting

God complex/ care giver if you don’t see Sangwoo’s god complex you truly are fucking stupid

Pushing people away and ruining relationships on purpose out of fear of being abandoned beating,verbal abuse, ghosting

Narcissistic characteristics ppl with narcissism are often drawn to ppl with BPD and vice versa if

ALL OF THESE SYMPTOMS SANGWOO DISPLAYS

Just because you read the little opening page doesn’t mean your punk ass gets to come on MY post and talk as if you know anything

And once again kindly GET FUCKED

@natsumi82

[nofriendsius-readsalot]

Killing Stalking Ch. 8-10 Contains Spoilers

Chapter 8: The mocking and demeaning of YB’s attempt to escape is jarring after getting so comfortable with the concept of SW feeling somewhat protective and caring over YB. This shock brings us back into the reality of SW’s personality. He feeds off of control and power over YB, the reason I haven’t mentioned their budding sexual relationship yet is that that’s all it is for SW, control, and power over YB’s body and mind. Clearly, it holds much more weight in YB’s perception, but that can be easily derived from his stalker tendencies and obsession with a romantic relationship between the two of them. Outside of this discussion, the whole concept of SW living in an abandoned neighborhood seems highly unlikely. I am not an expert on this topic, but a quick google search tells me that the population density of California, where there is currently a housing crisis in all major cities, is roughly 253 residents per square mile. While we don’t know the area where this takes place, we can assume it’s a fairly modern city and not rural. With this in mind, the population density of South Korea is 527 residents per square mile. From what I understand, this would imply that housing is sought after even more than in California and that the likelihood of no one living in SW’s neighborhood is next to impossible. In the end, we see SW going out of his comfort zone to find a new type of victim. In the first few chapters SW briefly mentions how he hasn’t killed a man since his father. Now we see him going to a gay bar and flirting with a man until he is able to convince him to come home with him. The very last panels show SW throwing this man down the stairs into the basement where YB is and suggesting they all have “fun” together.

Chapter 9 &10: SW finding a new victim and introducing him to YB is very interesting, this could be a new chapter (ironic wording considering this is a webcomic but bear with me) in SW’s “hobby”, where YB has inspired him to find victims in new demographic, gay men. While from the beginning it seems SW is fairly comfortable with the idea of being intimate with other men for his own personal gain, this does not necessarily imply he is attracted to them. While I love the idea of a canon bi character, especially in a genre where it is rare, I can’t help but wonder if SW’s sexual attraction is natural at all, or even sexual. It could be argued he is only sexual for the sake of furthering his homicidal exploits, and while the acts are indeed sexual, the intent could very well not be. Following this train of thought, SW could be any sexuality, though asexual comes to mind for me personally. This opens a new argument though, what about his romantic attractions. He continues to encourage the idea of romance between him and YB, but that could simply be a form of emotional manipulation. YB stated from the beginning that he was in love with SW, and SW could simply be using this information to his advantage. While I am just beginning this story, there’s a possibility of some kind of genuine, albeit sick and concerning, romantic attraction coming from SW. Though I doubt this, it hasn’t been explored yet but I expect that SW’s relationship with his parents could have scared him enough to eliminate all possibilities of having a healthy relationship when that trauma is combined with his sociopathic and homicidal “coping mechanisms'' (I doubt that’s the right term to use but I’m drawing a blank when it comes to describing his actions). SW feeling the need to guide YB’s actions in the second game of cops and robbers could be interpreted many different ways, personally, I see this as another attempt to have power over YB. This is SW exposing his need for control and devotion.

(My partner posed an interesting question, would Sang-Woo be able to kill Yoon-Bum if he needed to? And as I have some experience with this story I thought it would be interesting to explore that question as we get more familiar with their relationship. Thank you, Baby!!)

[nofriendsius-readsalot]

Killing Stalking Ch. 1-7 Contains Spoilers

Chapters 1-5: Jesus fuck that’s a lot of plot. So far I love how intricate the story and characters are. I can’t wait to hear more backstory, and while it’s already gorey and Sang-Woo’s manipulation is terrifying, I have a morbid urge to keep reading. Very well illustrated, and while the writing can seem a little disconnected at points that is easily explained by translation. With the precision put into the art and story, I can only imagine how beautiful the writing is in its original Korean.

(Later note, I do not add a lot of commentary for this portion of the comic, and my only excuse is that I was still finding my “sea legs” and as of writing this I’m still trying to find my style and what I want to explore. Killing Stalking is a very intense work to start off with, but I wanted to choose something I knew I would enjoy.)

Chapter 6: As I began reading this chapter, Sang-Woo’s bizarre behavior begins. Since I scoured the internet for warnings I remembered the borderline personality disorder. After some brief googling I began to notice key elements of the plot aligning with symptoms and common traits in those with BPD. The intense fear of abandonment, keeping Yoon-Bum alive because for once someone went out of their way to be with him without him orchestrating it. Along with this need to feel companionship, he has inappropriate outbursts of violence, aggression, and similar self-isolating behavior. I admit I had read a few chapters of this before I made this blog, but after analysing these small details as I am now this feels like a new story. These references to mental illness are so thorough and well embedded into the story, I wonder if the plot was written around this concept of an extreme and sensationalized case of BPD. The stark contrast of the heavy abuse and dare I say loving and doting actions need an explanation, and a personality disorder is a very interesting route to take. While I find this intriguing, I also like to toy around with the idea that these aren’t genuine acts of Sang-Woo, but calculated acts of affection to ensure Yoon-Bum’s devotion. To an extent this is implied, but what if that’s all it is.

(I feel this is a necessary warning, Sang-Woo’s behavior may be similar to BPD symptoms but BPD is in no way a violent or dangerous disorder. The majority of those suffering BPD have sought out help and work to combat their negative symptoms. Not only would it be cruel and offensive to assume someone with this disorder is similar to Sang-Woo, but it would be plain ignorant)

(For the sake of simplicity while typing this I will refer to Yoon-Bum as YB and Sang-Woo as SW from here on out)

Chapter 7: In this chapter, after Yoon-Bum is informed he will be alone for an extended amount of time, one of what I believe will be multiple instances of him hallucinating occurs.

He believes he is pulling mangled limbs of Sang-Woo’s victims out of the washing machine, then realizes it’s only clothing after backing away.

It is not clear whether this instance is Yoon-Bum imagining an outcome or genuinely believing it is happening in the moment, but a panel shows Sang-Woo slicing into his neck with a knife.

Directly after this, Yoon-Bum approaches the door and dialog between YB and an imaginary SW attempts to mock and intimidate YB into backing away, alluding to YB’s uncle waiting to abuse him followed by an image of an unnamed man, likely YB’s uncle, walking away from sweating and cowering YB on a bed.

I spoke too soon earlier, not only am I sure YB is hallucinating heavily, but it is a key element of this chapter. Since this is much more common than I anticipated, I don’t feel that breaking down every single hallucination is going to aid my review. At the end of this chapter, YB tries to escape and discovers he was never alone, SW was waiting on the porch for him. Gotta love the mind games.

DISCLAIMER: When I wrote this, I was not aware it is actually Bum who suffers from BPD, Sang-Woo has not been confirmed to have it. I do not mean to disregard what I previously said, but take it with a grand of salt. I am not a psychological professional, but it may be fun to organize Sang-Woo's symptoms when I am finished reading and see if he could also show signs of having BPD. If so that would be interesting to see the story as two conflicting personalities with the same disorder. That being said, Bum is the only one we know to have BPD, and I will be going into that in my next post.

[nofriendsius-readsalot]

Killing Stalking

Author: Koogi

Given Summary: The story follows Yoon Bum, a young, mentally ill man with a difficult past. After becoming infatuated with Oh Sangwoo, a peer from his time in the military who saved him from a rape attempt, he decides to enter Sangwoo's home while he is out of his house. Yoon Bum finds a tied-up, bruised woman in Sangwoo's basement and before he is able to free her, he is discovered by Sangwoo, who is revealed to be a serial killer. Sangwoo then breaks his ankles and despite Yoon Bum's previous love for him, Sangwoo puts Bum into a highly abusive and manipulative relationship until the very end.

Chapters: 67

Genres and Tags: Drama, Horror Fiction, Psychological Thriller

Warnings: Ableism, Rape, Physical & psychological abuse, Abusive relationship, Borderline Personality Disorder, Blood & gore depiction, Mutilation, Kidnapping, Stalking, Knife violence, Torture

Status: Completed

Since there are so many chapters, I think checking in after every few chapters and giving my analysis and review would be best. I made a neat little table in google docs to copy and paste into this but it didn't work, if anyone has any tips please share.

[nofriendsius-readsalot]

My Web Comic Reading List

Since I’ll be traveling soon and don’t have a library card in Ireland yet, I’ll pretty much only be reviewing webcomics for now.

My List:

Killing Stalking

Reincarnated into the Demon King Evelogai’s World

King's Maker

No Love Zone

Runway Hit

Timing

Couple of Mirrors

For Garbage

Body of Crime

From Now On, I'm Your Dog

Avialae

For My Weirdo

Playtime With Hakdo

Code of Silence

Bj Alex

Pearl Boy

When the Killer Falls in Love

Payback

Days of Hana (This was recommended by someone irl)

Lore Olympus (This wasn’t necessarily recommended but I saw that someone who followed me likes it so I thought it would be fun to read, I’ve heard a lot of good things)

Sweet Home (Recommended irl)

It’s a lot of gay stuff because I’m bi, but honestly I’ll read anything. If there’s anything else I should add or check out don’t hesitate to tell me.

(I’ll also be reviewing shows, movies, and music but I’m planning on reviewing these first)

[nofriendsius-readsalot]

I’m Moving Away

Hi, I’m NoFriendsius. I’m about to move away from California, my home for 10 years and the home of my lover, to Dublin Ireland, a place I’ve been once and an 8 hour time difference away from everyone I care about.

While I’m in introvert and pretty timid, I have a few people I’ve known for a long time that I care about a lot. I’m terrified of being alone. I will have been with my partner for two years by late October, and I believe they’re the person I want to marry. I don’t know how we will survive with me living abroad for at least two years.

My dad has a job in Ireland, and my whole family is moving, and while I’m only a few months away from graduating in America, in Ireland’s school system I’ll have to go back a year to complete the block and graduate.

Knowing I’ll probably be very bored and lonely for a while, I decided to create a reading list so I have something to do, and because I love reading. I found a bunch of recommendations online and thought it might be fun to review them here.

So, that’s what I plan to do, thanks for reading.